The NHL says the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs are the most-watched on record in the United States. The league reports an average of 1.8 million viewers for the postseason this spring. The figure is presented as a new high compared with previous seasons’ U.S. playoff viewership. One outlet also notes that ESPN’s coverage of the Cup Final drew its highest audience since 2019, linking the overall postseason numbers to strong final-round ratings. Other reports repeat the NHL’s core statistics, citing the same average audience figure and describing it as a record-setting result. The available accounts focus on broadcast viewership in the U.S. and do not provide additional details on the specific games, demographic breakdowns, or how streaming numbers are treated. The claims therefore center on the league’s reported average U.S. audience for the 2026 playoffs and the related observation about the Cup Final’s ratings performance.